Tigers Pound Pirates Early to Snap Skid

The Detroit Tigers ended a three-game losing streak with an 8-5 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 17 at PNC Park, according to the Detroit Free Press. The win moved the Tigers to 61-64, tying them with the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers for the final American League wild-card spot. The Blue Jays, Twins, and Guardians all sit within a game of that group.

Manager J. Hinch had promised the team wouldn't sulk after being swept by the Chicago White Sox, a sentiment the Free Press highlighted. The Tigers built a four-run lead in the first two innings and never looked back. In the opening frame, Colt Keith singled, Zack McKinstry singled in Gleyber Torres, and Hao-Yu Lee singled in another run. The second inning saw Torres single and Kevin McGonigle hit a 405-foot home run. Max Clark added an RBI single in the fifth as part of a two-hit night. The Pirates helped with a run-scoring walk in the sixth, but the Tigers had already done the heavy lifting.

Starter Framber Valdez allowed runs but was effective after the second inning. Kyle Finnegan relieved him and gave up an RBI single, while Drew Sommers pitched out of trouble. Kenley Jansen closed the ninth on eight pitches. Javy Baez booted a grounder, and the Free Press noted the Tigers were sloppy, but the Pirates were sloppier.

Lineup and Pitching Moves

Before the series finale against the Pirates on Wednesday, the Tigers announced a lineup change, as reported by Heavy. Kevin McGonigle, who had played third base and hit second in Tuesday's 4-1 loss, moved to shortstop and batted third, with Javier Báez out of the lineup. The full lineup had Colt Keith at DH, Gleyber Torres at second, McGonigle at short, Dillon Dingler catching, Brett Callahan in left, Zach McKinstry in right, Spencer Torkelson at first, Max Clark in center, and Hao-Yu Lee at third.

Jackson Jobe was set to start the finale for Detroit. Heavy noted Jobe had a 1-1 record with a 23 ERA over two starts since returning from the injured list. Paul Skenes was slated for Pittsburgh, with Heavy reporting the Cy Young winner's stats. McGonigle, 22, was on pace for AL Rookie of the Year honors, per Heavy, with a 422 slash line and 7 bWAR in 122 games.

A Rough Road Trip and a Pivotal Homestand

The Tigers returned home after going 1-6 on a road trip against the Pirates and Royals, according to Sports Illustrated. That stretch included a five-game losing streak, with the offense going cold. They managed seven runs in Sunday's loss to Kansas City, but the pitching couldn't hold up. Detroit sat eight games below 500 and 5 games back in the wild-card race entering a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, who owned the best record in the AL.

Sports Illustrated described the series as pivotal, with a series win a necessity. Probable starters were announced via com, as Heavy reported: Framber Valdez (8-8, 35 ERA) against Drew Rasmussen (13-5, 01 ERA) on Monday; Jackson Jobe (1-1, 50 ERA) against Ian Seymour (9-4, 17 ERA) on Tuesday; and Troy Melton (7-2, 60 ERA) against Freddy Peralta (5-11, 33 ERA) on Wednesday.

M Live Michigan added that Valdez was coming off a win at Pittsburgh on Aug. 17, the only victory of the road trip, despite allowing five runs, four earned, over 5 2/3 innings. Rasmussen had won six consecutive starts, though he allowed five runs in five innings against Toronto on Aug. 19. Before that, he had a 20 ERA over his first five starts since the All-Star break.

Heavy noted the Tigers had adjusted their rotation since trading two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to the Dodgers earlier in the month. Despite that, the team still ranked among better rotations with a 56 ERA and 21 WHIP. Keider Montero led Detroit with eight wins, while Skubal still led the team in strikeouts, and Kenley Jansen had 13 saves.

Hitting Slumps and Bright Spots

Several Tigers hitters were struggling, as Sports Illustrated detailed. Spencer Torkelson was 0-for-21 through Sunday, and a tweet from Tigers Data (cited by Sports Illustrated) showed the team's record when McGonigle and Dingler combine for few hits versus many. The same article noted Javier Baez's average at 067 and Dingler's at 105, plus Detroit's league-leading blown saves.

But some batters were producing. Gleyber Torres had been hot since the start of the White Sox series, going 10-for-29 345), per Sports Illustrated, and Colt Keith had seven hits in 17 at-bats 412). Dingler and Torkelson were the cold ones, with Dingler 2-for-28 since the Chicago series and Torkelson 1-for-20. FanGraphs gave the Tigers a 8% chance of making the playoffs, Sports Illustrated reported.

Hinch might consider giving Torkelson a day off, one Sports Illustrated piece suggested, noting his slump came despite good days from McGonigle and Hao-Yu Lee. The article framed Torkelson's struggles as a funk that would end, given his importance to the team's future.

The series against the Rays began Monday at 6:40 m. at Comerica Park, with Eduardo Valencia, Gleyber Torres, Corey Julks, and Ben Malgeri available off the bench, as M Live reported. The Tigers were desperate to get back on track, with Heavy noting they had lost eight of their last nine games, including a sweep by the Royals, prior to the Rays series.